Palmer Lake talks pot, CU says no to research and more

CannaBiz

Last year, Palmer Lake citizens pulled together a petition that repealed an initial ordinance opting out of recreational marijuana stores, and instead scheduled a vote on the issue for April 1, 2014. However, the ballot question is not binding for town council, leaving open the possibility that councilors could decide to continue to opt out of recreational stores.

"Well, they could, but then I would expect what happened last time to happen, which is that we would get a petition for a referendum and then have to have another vote," he says. "So, anything's possible, but do I expect that? I don't expect that. I expect that the new board will probably honor whatever the wishes of the population [are]."

His reference to a "new board," or council, highlights another interesting fact about the April election.

"And what it's done is, also there are a number of people running for the town board, which very seldom happens in Palmer Lake," Gaddis says. "In fact, everybody on the town board who's serving now has been appointed because of vacancies. So, one of the side benefits is that instead of just having just enough people who are willing to run, there's gonna be contests."

Boulder being blocked

In a March 17 memo to its staff — authored by college president Bruce Benson and in-house counsel Patrick O'Rourke, and first reported by Denver's CBS4 — the University of Colorado recognized that it had received multiple requests from faculty to study marijuana issues, and that the current system severely limits those opportunities. However: "No University of Colorado faculty member has authority to conduct marijuana-related research, that has not been approved through the appropriate federal, state, and University of Colorado processes applicable to research upon controlled substances."

Keef crumbs

• During a press conference with the National Cannabis Industry Association, a lobbying organization, Colorado Rep. Jared Polis offered this on the number of cannabis users in Congress: "I don't think more than, uh, five or 10, I would guess, but I really wouldn't know 'cause I haven't seen them use it."

• Last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that, in some situations, the protections listed in Amendment 64 could be applied retroactively.

"Because defendant's convictions were pending appeal when Amendment 64 became effective on December 10, 2012, her convictions for possession of marijuana concentrate and less than one ounce of marijuana must be reversed and vacated," wrote Judge Gale Miller.